In a 2-yr field study with preplanting-soil-incorporated treatments of atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine] and metribuzin [4-amino-6-tert-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazin-5(4H)-one], tolerance of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] to these herbicides, as measured by seed yield, was increased by increasing the seeding rate one-and-one-half or two times that normally recommended. These results agree with suggestions in the literature that plants can compete for herbicide in the soil, and suggest that increased seeding rates of soybeans can partially reduce the adverse effects of atrazine carryover or excessive metribuzin application.

Five PRE herbicides were applied at below maximum registered use rates to the same bermudagrass turf plots for three consecutive years for large crabgrass and goosegrass control. In most instances, full labeled herbicide rates were needed for acceptable large crabgrass and goosegrass control during the 1st year of treatment. All herbicides controlled large crabgrass but not goosegrass during the 1st year. Weed management programs that utilized the lowest herbicide rates while maintaining ≥ 80% control during the 2nd and 3rd years varied with herbicides. The programs for large crabgrass were prodiamine at 0.8 kg ha−1 the 1st year followed by 0.2 kg ha−1 the 2nd and 3rd years; oryzalin at 2.2 kg ha−1 the 1st year followed by 0.6 kg ha−1 the 2nd and 3rd years; dithiopyr at 0.3 kg ha−1 the 1st year followed by 0.1 kg ha−1 the 2nd and 3rd years; pendimethalin at 1.7 kg ha−1 the 1st year followed by 0.8 kg ha−1 the 2nd and 3rd years; and oxadiazon at 3.4 kg hha−1 the 1st year followed by 2.5 kg ha−1 the 2nd year and 1.7 kg ha−1 the 3rd year. The programs for goosegrass were prodiamine at 0.8 kg ha−1 followed by 0.6 kg ha−1 the 2nd and 0.4 kg ha−1 the 3rd year; dithiopyr at 0.8 kg ha−1 the 1st year followed by 0.4 kg ha−1 the 2nd and 3rd years; pendimethalin at 3.4 kg ha−1 the 1st year followed by 1.7 kg ha−1 the 2nd year and 0.8 kg ha−1 the 3rd year; and oxadiazon at 3.4 kg ha−1 followed by 0.8 kg ha−1 the 2nd and 3rd years. Because goosegrass control with oryzalin at reduced rates was unacceptable during the 1st and 2nd years, this herbicide should not be used in a reduced rate program. The quality of common bermudagrass was not affected by reduced herbicide rates.

A technique was developed for seeding rangelands which are too steep or too rocky to seed by current methods. Hardinggrass (Phalaris tuberosa L. var. stenoptera (Hack.) Hitchc.) and subclover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) were established by seeding immediately after spraying the resident vegetation with 1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium ion (paraquat). Tested for seeding in sod were single-disk, double-disk, and hoe-type drill openers. The double disk was best adapted to the clay soils most common in the area. A heavy-duty rangeland drill was modified with custom-made, heavy, double-disk openers and equipped with a spray system which sprays either bands or full coverage. The resulting planter will kill weeds, plant seeds, and spread fertilizer any place where a crawler tractor can pull it. Weed-free bands of 6 and 12 inches were compared with full spray coverage. No hardinggrass was established without some weed control. In only 5 of 16 tests over a 5-year period was full-spray coverage superior to the 6-inch band. The 12-inch band or full spray may be preferable on shallow soils or soils of low water-holding capacity. Spraying helped establish subclover but, unlike with hardinggrass, was not critical. Grazing or mowing during the establishment period improved stands of both hardinggrass and subclover. Prolonged weed control made paraquat superior to cultivation by giving better weed control and a firmer seedbed.

Five field experiments were conducted to evaluate effectiveness of postemergence herbicidal treatments. Amitrole (3-amino-s-triazole) at 1.1 kg ai/ha and picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) at 0.6 kg ai/ha reduced stands of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) for a 4-yr period. Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] at 2.2 kg ai/ha reduced stands of milkweed for two to three growing seasons. Glyphosate or amitrole applied in June (early bud stage) more effectively reduced milkweed stands in the second year than did the herbicides when applied in August (post-flowering stage). Treatments of 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid], 2,4,5-T [(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid], and dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) did not reduce stands of common milkweed.

When glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] was fed through the transpiration stream of excised bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. ‘Red Kidney’) shoots, it was readily absorbed and transported to the leaves where it inhibited transpiration. Maximum inhibition (40 to 50%) resulted from tissue concentrations of 50 to 3000 nmoles glyphosate/g fresh weight, while transpiration was significantly inhibited (20%) by as little as 15 nmoles/g fresh weight. A combination of 5 X 10-4M tyrosine (Tyr) and 5 x 10-4M phenylalanine (Phe) supplied continuously through the transpiration stream prevented the inhibition of transpiration by glyphosate during the course of 8-h experiments. Tyrosine (10-3M) alone delayed the transpiration response to glyphosate by 2 to 3 h but 10-3M Phe alone did not affect the inhibition by glyphosate. Levels of endogenous Tyr and Phe were about 50% lower in glyphosate-treated leaves than in the controls 6 h after treatment.

Soybean field experiments were conducted to compare weed interference data obtained from small 2.7-m2 plots to that obtained from large 11-m2 plots. Soybean row spacings of 15, 30, 45, and 90 cm were used. Sicklepod, common cocklebur, and soybean biomass as dry matter were harvested from small plots 10 weeks after planting and were compared to weed biomass and soybean seed yield from the large plots. Sicklepod and common cocklebur biomass in small plots increased and soybean biomass decreased as soybean row spacing increased. Soybean biomass was not affected by row spacing when weeds were not present. Sicklepod and common cocklebur biomass in large plots increased and soybean seed yield decreased as soybean row spacing increased. Soybean seed yield was not affected by row spacing when weeds were not present. Comparison of regression coefficients for paired regression lines indicates that soybean biomass from small plots may be substituted for seed yield from large plots as a measure of sicklepod or common cocklebur interference if both size plots use the same soybean row spacing and are irrigated until harvest.

Injury to corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids from butylate (S-ethyl diisobutylthiocarbamate) was investigated as a function of planting depth, soil pH, and temperature. Field and growth chamber studies indicated that the potential for butylate injury increased with increasing planting depth regardless of hybrid. Greenhouse and growth chamber experiments suggested that as soil pH decreased butylate injury increased, depending upon the hybrid. Butylate injury was also a differential response among hybrids, depending on temperature. Certain hybrids may be injured more at higher temperatures and other hybrids more at lower temperatures. Butylate injury to corn, therefore, appears to be due to a three-way interaction, stress x hybrid X butylate.

We collected tubers from greenhouse-grown yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) control plants and plants foliarly-treated with 3.36 kg/ha of disodium methanearsonate (DSMA) or monosodium methanearsonate (MSMA). Where sufficient tubers were produced, they were separated into two classes, large and small. Some of the tubers were analyzed for elemental arsenic, and others were stored at 2 C and planted at various intervals. Vitality of tubers was noted in terms of sprouting and vegetative growth. Tubers collected from treated plants contained significantly more arsenic (4 to 33 ppm) than control tubers (1 ppm). Tubers collected from treated plants and planted without separation sprouted in significantly reduced numbers compared to control tubers. Small tubers contained a significantly higher concentration of arsenic (23 to 33 ppm) than large tubers (4 to 12 ppm). The treatments reduced the vitality of small tubers but had little or no effect on vitality of large tubers.

Sequential herbicide treatments of 3-[p-(p-chlorophenoxy)-phenyl]-1,1-dimethylurea (chloroxuron) with S-propyl dipropylthiocarbamate (vernolate) controlled weeds early in the season in soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Dare’ or ‘Bragg’) better than when chloroxuron was applied in sequence with either α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N dipropyl-p-toluidine (trifluralin) or 4-(methylsulfonyl)-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropylaniline (nitralin). The control of weeds late in the season was enhanced with split applications of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea (linuron) or 2,4-bis(isopropylamino)-6-(methylthio)-s-triazine (prometryne) when applied to plots previously treated with chloroxuron as early postemergence and trifluralin, nitralin, or vernolate applied preplant. In 1969 nitralin injured soybeans, and reduced stands and seed yields significantly more than trifluralin or vernolate. In 1970 sequential treatments of prometryne with chloroxuron and vernolate were more phytotoxic to soybeans than were the same postemergence treatments when applied with nitralin and trifluralin.

Surgical experiments were conducted on cultured five-node apical rhizome segments of quackgrass. Removal of scale leaves promoted an initial burst of growth within the axillary buds but did not support the continued growth of buds as effectively as removal of the rhizome apex. Replacement of detached scale leaves over denuded buds temporarily repressed the promotive effect of scale leaf removal. Aqueous extracts of scale leaf material inhibited apical growth in rhizome segments but did not inhibit bud growth. Anatomical sections revealed that removal of scale leaves promoted development of buds: cells enlarged, vascular tissues differentiated, and new nodes began to form within 4 days of the removal of scale leaves. It is suggested that scale leaves contribute to apical dominance by inhibiting the initial development of axillary buds.

Seven herbicides were evaluated for the control of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. ‘Acala SJ-1’) in three field experiments during 1970 and 1971. The herbicides, 2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyl-N-(methoxymethyl) acetanilide (alachlor); 2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyl-N-(butoxymethyl) acetanilide (CP-53619); 2,4-bis(isopropylamino)-6-methylthio)-s-triazine (prometryne); 2-(α-naphthoxy)-N, N-diethylpropionamide (R-7465); S-isopropyl 5-ethyl-2-methylpiperidine-1-carbothioate (R-12001); 4-chloro-5-(dimethylamino)-2-(α,α,α-trifluoro-m-tolyl)-3-(2H)-pyridazinone (San-6706); and 2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1,2,4-oxadiazolidine-3,5-dione (methazole), were applied broadcast and incorporated 10 cm deep into the soil before the preplanting irrigation. All herbicides controlled nutsedge for at least 1 month in two or more experiments. Cotton was most tolerant to applications of 2.24 and 4.48 kg/ha of CP-53619, 3.36 and 6.72 kg/ha of prometryne, 1.12 kg/ha of San-6706, and 2.24 kg/ha of methazole. Higher rates of San-6706 and methazole and all rates of alachlor, R-7465, and R-12001 reduced the yield of cotton in one or more experiments.

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. ‘Samsun N. N.’) leaves were treated with (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4-D) at a concentration of 500 mg/L by the syringe infiltration technique and then sampled at regular intervals. Electron microscopic examination of the treated tissue revealed that the response of the mesophyll cells to 2,4-D was related to the age of the leaf at the time of treatment. Expanding leaves from the upper portion of the plant exhibited a high degree of tolerance to 2,4-D. Mature, fully-expanded leaves from the lower part of the plant were highly sensitive to the herbicide, with the mesophyll cells undergoing rapid structural breakdown. This breakdown involved a rupturing and disintegration of the tonoplast, plasmalemma, and membranes of chloroplasts and mitochondria.

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr., ‘Hawkeye 63′) seedling segments from the zone of elongation and corn (Zea mays L., ‘Pioneer 3306) seedling segments were utilized to evaluate the antagonistic interaction of S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC) and (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-acetic acid (2,4-D). EPTC inhibited growth of the soybean and corn tissue, and 2,4-D in combination with EPTC caused an increase in growth compared to EPTC alone. The 2,4-D-enhanced growth in the presence of EPTC was due to an antagonism of the EPTC inhibition. Inhibition of soybean tissue growth by S-ethyl diisobutylthiocarbamate (butylate) also was antagonized by 2,4-D. Preincubation of soybean tissue in EPTC for 4 hr prior to the addition of 2,4-D did not prevent 2,4-D enhancement of growth. Conversely, the rate of growth was inhibited when EPTC was added after 4 hr of 2,4-D-enhanced growth. The addition of uridine to the incubation media with EPTC did not decrease the EPTC-inhibition of soybean tissue growth. This indicated that EPTC did not inhibit the synthesis of pyrimidine precursors. EPTC vapor losses from the incubation media reduced the inhibitory effect of EPTC to soybean tissue. Also, a growth reduction occurred when the amount of soybean tissue per unit of EPTC was increased.

Different growth rates of young seedlings (genets) and plants grown from root pieces (ramets) of yellow toadflax could influence their respective competitive ability and their susceptibility to management techniques. Shoot production was similar for genets and ramets (approximately 10 shoots were produced 12 or 13 wk after transplanting or cotyledon appearance, respectively), but the rate of shoot biomass accumulation was higher for genets than for ramets. Genets consistently produced more underground shoots than ramets. Replanted underground shoots separated from their roots were able to produce new shoots and roots. Rate of elongation for roots 0.5 to 1.5 mm in diameter was higher for ramets than for genets, but their shoot production potential was the same. Root pieces from genets did not have the ability to produce daughter shoots until 3 wk after cotyledon appearance. This indicates that very young genets would be more susceptible than older genets or ramets to management control systems.

Representative herbicides of the substituted ureas, uracils, s-triazines, benzonitriles, and bipyridyls, which are potent inhibitors of photosynthetic electron transport, markedly accelerated photooxidations (chlorophyll bleaching and lipid peroxidation) normally occurring in isolated intact chloroplasts. Other herbicides, which are not potent inhibitors of photosynthesis, did not accelerate photooxidations. The photooxidations, whether in the presence or absence of herbicides, were completely prevented by exogenously supplied NADH or NADPH but not by sucrose or mannitol. Herbicide-induced injury to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings treated with paraquat (1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium ion) was diminished by allowing the seedlings to absorb NADPH. These results provide additional support to the hypothesis that depletion of the source of reducing potential (NADPH) is responsible for chloroplast photooxidations and plant death following treatment with photosynthesis-inhibiting herbicides.

The uptake, translocation, and metabolism of 14C-alachlor [2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyl-N-(methoxymethyl)acetanilide] by germinating and emerged snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seedlings were monitored under 16-h daylength (21 klux) comparing 16 C night/21 C Day and 27 C night/32 C day temperature regimes. Total uptake of 14C-alachlor by germinating snap beans was greater under the higher temperature, however, the compound was localized primarily in the roots where it was rapidly metabolized. At the lower temperature, the label was located in approximately equal amounts in all plant parts except cotyledons and significantly less of the alachlor was metabolized. Root uptake of 14C-alachlor and translocation of labeled compounds to the shoots were significantly greater under the higher temperatures. Approximately 60% of 14C-alachlor was shown to volatilize from a watchglass after 48 h at 27 C. After volatilization, uptake of 14C-alachlor occurred in adjacent snap bean plants in a closed system.

Relationships between volunteer barley plant density and both pea and volunteer barley yield were determined in field experiments conducted over 2 yr at Vegreville and Lethbridge, Alberta. Nonlinear regression analysis indicated that severe pea yield losses due to volunteer barley occurred at both locations. Averaged over both years, pea seed yield losses per volunteer barley plant (initial slopes) varied from 1.7% at Vegreville to 5.4% at Lethbridge. Based on certain assumptions, economic thresholds calculated from the equations were approximately 2 and 6 volunteer barley plants m−2 at Lethbridge and Vegreville, respectively. Revenue from the volunteer barley seed partially alleviated the monetary losses caused by the reduced pea seed yield. The effects of pea density on pea and volunteer barley yield were inconsistent and marginal. This suggested that there was little advantage, in terms of increasing pea yield or reducing volunteer barley interference, to seeding pea above the recommended rate of 100 plants m−2.

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of nonionic surfactants and reaction media (water, glass, and corn leaf residue) on photolysis and subsequent phytotoxicity of chlorimuron and metsulfuron residues. Oxysorbic and octoxynol enhanced rates of chlorimuron and metsulfuron photolysis in aqueous solution and on glass slides compared to controls with no surfactant. Enhanced photolysis of chlorimuron by surfactants was greatest on glass, where 93 and 89% loss occurred after 48 h exposure to ultraviolet light in the presence of oxysorbic and octoxynol, respectively, compared to 38% loss with no surfactant. Similarly, surfactant-enhanced metsulfuron photolysis was greatest on glass with 37 and 67% loss after 48 h exposure in the presence of oxysorbic and octoxynol, respectively, compared to 9% loss with no surfactant. Photolysis of herbicides deposited on corn leaf residue was significantly slower than that on glass or in aqueous media at all exposure times and metsulfuron photolysis on corn residue was enhanced by surfactants only after 144 h exposure. Bioassays confirmed that phytotoxicity of photolyzed herbicide residues was negatively correlated (r=-0.94 for chlorimuron and r=-0.92 for metsulfuron) with loss of parent herbicide as measured by liquid chromatography.

The absorption and translocation of 14C-terbutryn [2-(tert-butylamino)-4-(ethylamino)-6-(methylthio)-s-triazine] and 14C-fluometuron [1,1-dimethyl-3-(α,α,α,-trifluoro-m-tolyl) urea] in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. ‘SJ-1′) and snapbean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. ‘Tenderette’) were studied. 14C-terbutryn supplied to the roots accumulated in the root system of both species. However, snapbean plants (sensitive) absorbed and translocated more 14C to the shoots than cotton (tolerant), followed by rapid distribution in the leaf mesophyll tissue. In cotton, the translocated 14C-terbutryn accumulated in stems, petioles, and leaf veins. Excised cotton roots absorbed more 14C-terbutryn than excised snapbean roots. The uptake and distribution pattern of root-applied 14C-fluometuron was similar in both species. Foliar application to the primary leaf of snapbeans and to one cotyledon of cotton resulted in 2% of 14C-terbutryn transported acropetally to younger leaves with no basipetal movement. Translocation of 14C-fluometuron from the site of foliar application was two or three times faster than terbutryn with significant basipetal transport in both species.

Horsenettle is a deep-rooted perennial weed that cannot be easily controlled by mechanical means or by a single chemical application. A study was conducted at two sites for two consecutive years to identify biological factors that might limit its growth. Insects, nematodes, and plant pathogens were collected from horsenettle growing in bermudagrass pastures. The insects most commonly found included the Colorado potato beetle and the eggplant flea beetle. An unidentified lepidopteron, family Gelechiidae, was found at very low frequency as pupae in hollow leaf chambers constructed at the apices of flowering meristems. Infested apices bore no fruit. Seven genera of nematodes were found in the soil at both sites, but only very low numbers of lesion nematodes were recovered from horsenettle roots, and these had caused little damage. Root rot was observed under wet soil conditions on plants damaged by trampling. A downy mildew was prevalent at both sites in both years in October.